'Phenomenal job': Gautam Gambhir praises Shreyas Iyer despite India's back-to-back T20I defeats against New Zealand

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'Phenomenal job': Gautam Gambhir praises Shreyas Iyer despite India's back-to-back T20I defeats against New Zealand originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Gautam Gambhir backed Shreyas Iyer after India lost the last two T20Is in New Zealand.
  • However, India won the series 3-2, having taken the first three matches.
  • Gambhir called the ODI squad probably the most inexperienced bowling attack in the format.

Gautam Gambhir overlooks India's consecutive losses after T20I series win

India had the series sealed before the fourth T20I began, then lost both matches that followed, by 87 runs at Eden Park and by seven wickets at Seddon Park. Speaking in Hamilton afterward, Gautam Gambhir chose to talk about the three wins rather than the two defeats.

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"Shreyas Iyer has done a phenomenal job with an inexperienced bowling attack after the World Cup. Against challenging opposition in challenging conditions," the head coach said.

He kept returning to how little preparation India had, with the squad arriving from the West Indies series and going almost straight into a match, as he told reporters.

"Incredible effort from the boys. Just one day to prepare, most playing for first time in New Zealand. Different weather, dimensions and conditions," Gambhir said, adding that nobody would be discussing the single practice session had India not already taken the series.

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How Iyer fared and why bowling kept letting India down

Iyer took over as India's 15th T20I captain in June and has played 16 T20Is in just the last 50 days. But this series was his first overseas assignment in the role. He won all three matches, each time chasing down targets of 226, 181 and 199. But that doesn't mean India doesn't have its issues.

The bowling gave him almost nothing to work with. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, recalled after four years, took one wicket in his first three matches at an economy of 11.58, and no Indian bowler finished the series going under nine an over.

Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, the two most accomplished spinners in the squad, did not play until the final match.

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Once New Zealand got a total on the board, India had no response. Glenn Phillips made 107 off 49 balls at Eden Park in a score of 259 for 7, and Jacob Duffy's 4 for 23 then held India to 172.

In Hamilton, Tim Seifert was dropped on 13 by Naman Dhir and went on to make 93 off 50, with Phillips adding an unbeaten 65 to take the win.

Gambhir's warning about what comes next was blunter still. "This is probably ODI cricket's most inexperienced bowling attack," he said. "In batting, we have plenty of experience, but when you come overseas, it is your bowlers who win you series."

India's remaining schedule in New Zealand

DateMatchVenueTime (IST)Nov 41st ODIEden Park, Auckland7:30 AMNov 72nd ODIHnry Stadium, Wellington7:30 AMNov 103rd ODISeddon Park, Hamilton7:30 AMNov 134th ODIBay Oval, Tauranga7:30 AMNov 155th ODIBay Oval, Tauranga7:30 AMNov 19-231st TestBasin Reserve, Wellington3:30 AMNov 27-Dec 12nd TestHagley Oval, Christchurch3:30 AM

MORE: India vs New Zealand 1st ODI 2026 date: Match timings, venue and broadcast details as Rohit, Kohli return

The Cricket News Opinion: India's batting is not sorted either

The coach is right about the attack, but the batting has its own issues that the series win has hidden. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened in Wellington, scoring 45 off 19 as part of a world-record 118-run powerplay stand, but then found himself out of the side while Sanju Samson kept his place.

Samson's returns do not support that. He made 67 off 33 in the opener and then 4 and 18 in the matches that followed, falling to Jacob Duffy for a two-ball 4 at Eden Park in a chase that was already drifting.

With the 2028 T20 World Cup on the horizon, which India is supposedly building towards, a dead rubber is where a teenager averaging what Sooryavanshi did in the IPL should be getting matches.

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